Good Grief

When will the hard stuff be done? Today was a hard day for Kristie; she had to get her "stint" removed. The stint was put in during the transplant and the doctors explained to us that it would need to be removed after six weeks so we knew it was coming. The stint is a very small long hollow tube that links the bladder to the new kidney to sort of hold them together while they heal together.

So how do they take it out you ask? If you're squeamy don't read this next part. They put a very small telescope into Kristie's uerethra, find the stint and yank it out. I know what you're thinking...that's gotta hurt. You're right. Although they did numb it before they stuck the telescope in with some numbing gel (which stung).

Kristie was so brave and cooperative, it was truly unbelievable...I was so proud of her. We talked her thru everything. Dr. Chapman and his nurse, Jenny, were really great. Really helpful and patient; they made her feel welcome.

Tomorrow, she has to have her second round of Sydocam which is a special medicine given to her as an outpatient at the hospital thru an IV. So, another 4 hours will be spent watching her Sydocam drop into her arm on a lovely Thursday afternoon.

I swear this is a full-time job. I don't know how anyone could do this who actually had to go work a 40 hour week elsewhere...its so time consuming, especially with all the stuff we have to do at home. Measuring input and output, filling prescriptions, traveling to/from the clinic and the hospital. Geez.

Speaking of prescriptions...one of her new medicines cost $2550 for a 30 day supply and the other I just got a refill on today cost $1920 for a 30 day supply. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??!! Thank God we don't have to pay anything because of Nigel's good insurance and Medicare.

I'll be glad when these 3 months are past. Kristie and I counted how many hard things she's had to do...hmmmm, let's see.

1. The Transplant itself
2. The breathing tube
3. The neck IV
4. The catheter
5. The needles twice a week
6. The biopsy
7. The stint
8. The medicine - 13 prescriptions
9. The nausea
10. The diarreah

Good grief. Thank God the kidney is working GREAT!

Life is Good

She's getting so BIG!

I love swimming!

From Daddy's Garden! The Biggest Cucumber ever!

Reading Braille with Aunt Kristie!

The new do!

So, I was watching Joel Osteen this morning. He's sort of cheesy and does weird things with his eyes while he speaks, but always has an uplifting message; something I definitely needed today. I need to remember that God is my cheerleader and has given me the strength (and hope) to keep looking forward to each new day. I am destined to be great. I hope that doesn't sound egotistical because its meant to sound self confident. I have confidence in my abilities to move my life in the direction God intends it to go. I feel that I'm doing the things he wants to do with regard to Kristie and her health and now he'll do it for me in a more personal sense.

I made a list this morning of things I want to do (and need to do).

I guess I'm getting my energy back because I haven't felt this sort of drive in a long while. And I'll do these things more slowly with a savoring of each experience so I enjoy each day.

I'm also going to attend my company's Leadership Conference in Dallas, TX next month; that will be exciting. Nigel and I decided to not go to the Bahamas (the trip I earned free this year with Jewels by Park Lane) because the date was September 2nd and we didn't feel Kristie would be well enough for us to leave her. Instead we cashed out the trip and spent the money on new clothes! After cleaning out my closet, it was money well spent. I've decided that I want to follow Oprah's rule on clothing - only wear what you love. So that means, for me anyway, to buy less clothes and wear more of what you love to wear. I also read a book that my friend Sue gave me to read during my recovery and there was a chapter that said clean out your closet, buy less, and wear more of what you love...hmmm...I knew that but needed to hear it again! Thanks Sue!

In one of my last posts I talked about losing friends....but I now choose to focus on all the friends I DO have in my life. Thank you to all of you who have stuck my me during Kristie's illness this past year and the transplant - I do appreciate all your phone calls and voicemails, your support, your encouragement, your cards, your time and your prayers.

Time to move on. Life is Good.

P.S. I bought something on QVC this morning...my first time on QVC...its a Giant Cupcake Baking Pan...how cool is that?!

Star Wars

Kristie wanted to go see the new Star Wars - The Clone Wars movie but we're not supposed to go to crowded places so she asked the doctor last week if she could go and the doctor said she could go as long she went to a daytime matinee, in the middle of the week (less people), sat in the last row, preferably didn't sit next to anyone, and if someone was coughing near her, we had to move.

So, today after driving Katie and Calla to the airport (they're going to Garrett's wedding in Ashland, Oregon) I took Kristie to the movie. She was so excited to eat a big bag of M&Ms and drink a big Coke too - something she couldn't do before the transplant.

She loved the movie! I promptly fell asleep for about 45 minutes. Now, I am a Star Wars fan, but this movie is NOT good...don't tell Kristie though.

We cleaned out my closet last week and after trying twice to take my clothes with designer labels on them to 2 consignment stores; one turned me down flat and the other is closed for two weeks. Katie said let's sell them on EBay; so, since I have to stay home with Kristie this weekend, I'm going to learn how to sell on EBay. If you have any tips, let me know. Cathie and Dad sell on EBay...can't be that hard but I'm not a techie, so I may be calling you soon.

Dad gave me some good advice on having friends...thanks Dad. You made me cry but it helped.

We broke a rule today and went to Target after the movie. We're breaking another rules tonight and going out for Sushi and Teriyaki when Nigel gets home from the golf tournament - he's a volunteer at the Boeing Classic and gets to be one of the scorekeepers. A dream come true, evidently.

P.S. Kristie has to drink 7 - 20 ounce bottles of fluid a day...you try it and tell me how it goes. Her new kidney, evidently, likes lots of fluid...hmmm, it must not have liked my body because there is no way I was even drinking the recommended 64 ounces of water each day!

GOOD NEWS!

Just got the results from the biopsy...THE KIDNEY IS HEALTHY! YAY!

GRRRRRRRR

Well, so much for our trip to Garrett's wedding...Grrrrr. That was NOT Plan B, that wasn't even Plan Z! I guess someone forgot to tell someone or something.

So last night I get a call from the Transplant Team and they want Kristie to go have a biopsy of her new kidney today at 8 a.m. Why? Did something happen? No, just that her creatinine went up to 1.8 AGAIN and they are dumbfounded as to why this keeps happening. It should be going down, not up.

So, a biopsy will tell them what is going on with the kidney.

I was a cry baby all night and knew I couldn't watch them stick a long needle into my little Kristie so Katie (once again) said she would go. She's an angel.

So this morning we all get up at 6 a.m.; they leave at 7 a.m. to get checked in by 7:45 a.m. and then they do an ultrasound and then the biopsy. Katie said "It was not a pleasant experience" but Kristie was brave, again. Afterwards Kristie laid flat for 5 hours with a sandbag on her kidney to keep everything still...weird I know.

Nigel and I stayed with Calla and then after her morning nap, we drove to the hospital and stayed with Kristie while Katie took Calla to the park.

Now we are waiting for the results...we should know about 5 p.m.

Please pray for a healthy kidney. Sigh. Double Sigh.

Updates

This last year has been a doozy. I think I'm just now realizing how exhausting taking care of Kristie has been on an emotional level. My friend Treena said it best when she reminded me that it isn't just about recovering from a kidney transplant. Its about recovering from this past year of kidney disease worry and stress, including business changes where you thought you had friends but then realized that they weren't really friends at all. That's sad. I still wonder why they thought leaving a business meant leaving friendship. I guess I'll never know the answer to that question.

I've learned some valuable lessons these past months.

• YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE. PERIOD.
• Friends are the family you get to choose.
• Real friends stick by you no matter what.
• Taking care of yourself is really important - you only get one chance.
• If you need a nap, take one.
• Only eat if you're hungry and then only eat until you're full or satisfied.
• Be generous with compliments and say please and thank you.
• Try not to complain (unless, of course, you've reached your breaking point).

Okay, enough heavy stuff.

I had the pleasure of putting Calla to bed tonight. She's a little sweetheart. She was so tired she didn't even cry when I put her in the crib. Speaking of the crib. I don't know what I was thinking but the little fold up crib I bought for her trips up to see Grandpa and Grandma is almost too small now...should have just bought the full size one. Lesson learned.

I'm so grateful for Katie and Nich's help this past month. Thanks Nicholas for your patience and kindness and love you showed with Kristie this past month, (especially all those days and nights in the hospital.) And for the love you show Katie and Calla every day. (Nich went home yesterday to prepare for school.) We miss you already!

We're traveling to Ashland, Oregon this weekend for Garrett's wedding. Kristie was cleared by her doctors to attend the wedding (with minimum mingling). We're leaving Friday and coming home Sunday. I can't wait for the weekend outing where we can pretend to not be recovering from a kidney transplant. It's an 8 hour drive so Katie and I will take turns.

Nigel's home from England tonight - just waiting for the call to go pick him up. He's funny...he called the other night and said to give Calla a hug and kiss for him...nothing for me, just Calla! His Mom's 80th Birthday Party was a big hit. She knew about the party, but didn't know that Nigel was coming...so he pulled off the surprise perfectly!

Have you been watching the Olympics? The U.S. Gymnastics Women's team, specifically, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Lukin, are getting the shaft from the judges in the individual event competitions...frustrating. At least they got the gold and silver in the all around competition.

Labs tomorrow for Kristie...we had a GREAT week last week but this week her creatinine is up from 1.5 to 1.8. Sigh. Can it just go down please? (Normal is .5 to 1 and immediately after the transplant it was .8) Please pray all her levels will normalize.

Thanks.

Photos

Kristie's Kidney Shower 2 days before surgery. A talking Kermit the Frog, bears, books, fuzzy blankie, braille books. Fun.

Me and Kristie 5 days after surgery. Kristie was still in the hospital and I had just been discharged the day before.

Grandpa and Calla in the hot tub!

Cathie aka YaYa and Scott aka Serpa - thank you for your help! We couldn't have done it without you!

Nicholas, Kristie and Calla at Gene Coulon Park last week.

Katie and Calla at the park. Calla was so excited to go swimming!

Yesterday was the Clinic appt. This is where we go to the Transplant Team's "office" so to speak and get Kristie's blood drawn. Then we wait to get blood pressure and temperature done and update meds and talk with transplant coordinator about how she's feeling. Then we wait again to talk with a nephrologist aka kidney doctor. We do this twice a week. It takes about 2 to 3 hours.

It is an unorganized mess.

If I were in charge, I would set this up differently. I would NOT have all the kidney patients show up at 9 a.m. and then shuffle them around, in and out, in and out, until the last of them leaves at noon.

Ridiculous.

Nuff complaining.

Its been 3 weeks since we had the transplant and all in all the recovery has been good. Not fantastic, not fast, not amazingly well...just good. But that's okay. Can you tell I'm trying to talk myself into knowing that its okay? It actually sucks but I'm trying to take my own advice that I give to Kristie. Let's be positive okay? um hum, okay.

Nuff complaining.

Kristie has to drink about 24 ounces of liquid every morning, afternoon and evening or she will get dehydrated and end up back in the "you know where". So we made a list of "fun" drinks yesterday that will help her accomplish that.

Coffee Frappacinos from Starbucks - her favorite
Lemonade
Hot Chocolate
Milkshakes
Sleepy Time Tea
Other teas

Just got some good news right now...they're dropping the dose of the two medicines that make her nauseous so that's good.

Think positive. Okay.

She's Home

Kristie's home! Yay! She came home yesterday about 5 p.m. When I tucked her in bed she said "Oh this bed feels soooo good. I love it."

She has to drink ALOT!

Her diaareah and nausea are much better. But they upped her medicine again...the stuff that makes her sick...sigh. Its like walking a tightrope. What's good for her kidney is not necessarily good for her stomach.

Please keep those prayers coming.

Thank goodness for Katie, Nich, Calla, and Nigel. Without them, this would be a friggin nightmare.

Detour

Well, the short two day stay I referenced before has now turned into a short 5 to 7 day stay...sigh.

Kristie has been in the hospital since last Wednesday and its now Sunday. Probably won't be going home for another couple of days. Still too much diarrhea and nausea. You'd think they could get this fixed but with all the meds she's taking its tricky...evidently.

We're trying to be patient and have a good attitude. We are realizing that its a process.

Please send prayers our way that the doctors will find the right meds that Kristie's body can tolerate and that the nausea and diarrhea will go away.

In the meantime, we are taking turns with her day and night so she's not alone.

I'm doing much better...even drove for the first time yesterday.

Katie and Nich and Calla are back from CA this afternoon...we miss them! My sister Sue is leaving tomorrow - she's been a big help!

Will post photos later.